Rating: T+

Warnings: OOCness, OCs, rantings from a mad author, grammatical errors(?), torture, death, a dash of angst, yaoi, confusing if you haven't read MIAB.

Disclaimer: Whims of Anime does not own Beyblade, only the plot and the OCs. Beyblade belongs to their rightful owners. Please support the official release.

Dedication: Everyone that went through all the shit in MIAB. You guys are great.

Ship(s): Kai x Tyson, Chaos x Night, onesided!Erebus x Chaos, onesided!Erebus x Haru, Hikaru x Kaori, Shun x Nami, Hiro x Aya, ? x Rin

Anime: Chapter 2 already guys and it will show us some of the plot. Yay! Sorry it was so late but I blame school.

Rin: Sorry, in advance, to the Third Elder.

~~~EDIH~~~

2: Resonance

In the land where stars and planets could be seen connecting to the branches of a silver tree, a young girl was sleeping in the roots of the tree. She was a small and thin girl with dark hair and black circles under her eyes. She was dressed in what appeared to be rags and she held a fan in her hands. She was breathing heavily and one of her bony hands was covering the side of her stomach.

Suddenly, the tree seemed to groan and a branch – that was connected with Universe 1, Dimension 177, Reality 10 – fell. The sound woke up the girl and she looked up, her green eyes turning light brown before shifting back to green. She bit her lower lip, "Things are getting worse. If this continues, Yggdrasil will die." She placed a hand over her heart before looking up, "First, this was a lousy time for you to disappear."

The girl shifted. She became a taller young woman with long, silky black hair, green eyes and a healthy-looking body. Her rags morphed into an off-the-shoulder midnight-blue dress with sleeves that made it up to her elbows. The fan that she had in her hand morphed into a golden staff with the emblem of Yggdrasil in it. The young woman, not recognizable by humans, was none other than the great Third Elder, one of the seventeen beings that had created the worlds.

She grimaced and the side of her dress turned darker. She cursed before looking at Yggdrasil, "You couldn't have tried dying after Erebus and Fifteen stopped their feverish rebellion?" The World Tree said nothing and that just made Third sigh. She was about to sit down when she heard someone land on one of the branches nearby.

"Fuck." She said before looking around and spotting one of her favorite universes, "I hope that they'll treat me well in the Granger dojo." With those words, she turned into a shower of golden sparks that headed in the direction of a very familiar dimension.

~~~EDIH~~~

Bey City, Japan, Earth

Tyson was the first to pause when they were close to reaching the third floor. He felt like he was suffocating and he paused to put a hand over his throat. He coughed, "What is this?"

"Rikku's power." Kaori replied then she also coughed, "It feels like Chaos's darkness, doesn't it?" She shook her head then leaned on the railing, looking exhausted, "I told you she needed help, Ty. Her beast is too powerful."

They continued going up and Kaori paused when she noticed a figure coughing at the top of the staircase, the trembling figure on his knees. She blinked, "Eden, is that you?" The male turned to her, a hand over his mouth. Piercing green eyes analyzed them before glancing at Kaori and answering.

"Kaori-sensei, I was going to try to stop Rikku!" He answered, his voice muffled by his hand. It was odd to see him address Kaori as "sensei", as he was older than her – probably twenty one years old. He had black hair with white streaks in his hair that looked like Aya's skunk spot. One of his hands was clutching a white Beyblade with a black attack ring and the bit-chip was glowing.

"Idiot, there's no way you and Anubis can stop her and Loki." Kaori said as they reached the top and helped Eden to his feet.

"Her bit-beast is named Loki?" Nami asked, suddenly before they looked into the hallway of the floor. Black tendrils moved along every room and they were about to wrap themselves around the group. Tyson grunted, calling forth the shard of Night's soul that dwelled inside his heart.

Light surrounded them and Eden took a deep breath, his pallor regaining color. He didn't let go of his blade but smiled in appreciation towards Tyson. They all did, panting loudly and the air being less stifling.

"Rikku? Rikku, are you okay?" Kaori asked. One of the doors opened and they could hear soft footsteps as a girl approached them. Finally, Rikku appeared before them and Tyson heard Aya take a sharp intake of breath.

Rikku was a scrawny girl that was around twelve years old with long green hair, her bangs long enough to cover her eyes so they couldn't see her eyes. She was dressed in a black dress and was barefoot. In her hands, she clutched a black-and-green blade that was oozing out darkness.

Seeing her, Tyson remembered all the haggard children of the warehouse where the Forsaken Fallen had kept the children they chose as their possible tamers. The children, who looked so tired and haunted by all the torture they had gone through in the hands of their captors.

"Loki needs to be alone. He doesn't like it when the kids call me names." Rikku said before biting her lower lip, "I know Ritsu told you to help me but there's not much to help, is there? Loki says it would've been better if you had Nemesis to help you but you chose Arion instead."

Kaori flinched, as if she had been punched. Nobody was supposed to know about their involvement with the Forsaken Fallen yet this girl knew. Rikku looked at them before she made a sound of surprise, "The child of the skies!"

Tyson flinched this time since no one but Chaos and the Elders called him that. Rikku smiled suddenly and walked towards him, clutching her blade tightly, "You're shining brightly as always! Loki and I have been waiting to meet you and Dragoon for a very long time."

"You have?" Tyson asked, blinking down at the girl. Up close, he could see her eyes were a violet color that danced with wisdom well beyond her years. Seeing her, he was reminded of the eyes of Night and the First Elder.

"Yes!" The girl smiled, showing him her blade, "Loki likes you a lot. He says you remind him a lot of Night, you see, and he liked Night. I don't know who Night is but Loki says he was a little like you." She placed a hand on Tyson's own and he jumped when he saw a gigantic serpent looking at him.

The snake must have been taller than the whole building and it looked majestic. It had black scales with green designs and alluring red eyes that made Tyson want to keep contact. It seemed to smile before the image shifted to a black haired male with green eyes dressed in black and green armor. The male mouthed something before the image disappeared, Rikku reappearing in front of him.

"You saw, right?" Rikku whispered before drawing back, "That means you're special." She turned to the others before turning to Tyson, "People don't like those that are better. People call me a witch, you know? I'm not but they think I am because I'm better than them. Sad, isn't it?"

"Rikku, do you like Loki?" Tyson interrupted the girl.

Rikku nodded, "And my big brother and Frey. I also like Night, Rin and Tyson because Loki likes them. Hey, Tyson, do you want to battle me?" She began to head into the training rooms, walking with a jump to her step. Somehow, Tyson preferred her smiling than looking miserable.

"Rikku Yamamoto, you're insane." Eden said in a joking manner before he followed her. Everyone else did the same except for Tyson, who was frozen in his spot. He grabbed Dragoon for reassurance, even though he didn't know what he wanted reassurance from.

Rikku Yamamoto was among those that First Elder had told him to look out for.

~~~EDIH~~~

"Are you awake, Rin-rabbit?" Riku asked, wheeling himself into the office of his legal brother. Rin was asleep in a pile of papers with his glasses firmly in place. Riku held in a laugh before he studied the state of the office. The office was a mess, to say the least and Riku had to remind Ritsu to come up to clean it up – as the boy was also Rin's secretary – although he pitied the guy for having to deal with this.

There were coffee mugs all across the desk along with a half-eaten rice ball. Random books were open in random places and the pictures of several of their new bladers were in Rin's desk. The computer in his desk was open and playing videos of beybattles of the past, something that didn't surprise Riku.

The floor was covered by papers that talked about the plans for new stadiums, plans for more powerful blades, and pictures of Takao's paintings that were arranged strangely. Riku saw some papers had some of his lyrics and there was a paper that read "Ragnarok" before it cut off in another language. There were more papers like that one, except they said "Irregular", "Yggdrasil", "Heart" and other odd things.

"Rin?" Riku asked, trying to wake up the older male. He sighed before rolling to Rin's desk. There were several photos framed there, some that made him smile because he wouldn't have pegged Rin to be sentimental.

There was a picture of his parent's wedding, framed in a silver photo frame. Natasha was holding a bouquet of white roses and was leaning towards Haru with a grin on her face while one of Haru's arms was wrapped around her waist.

The second picture was of Aya, Hikaru, Shun, Nami, Riku and Rin, all of them hugging Riku excitedly. It was a picture taken almost four years ago as they all looked younger. The photo had been taken inside Riku's room in the psychiatric hospital during his birthday, which explained why they were all wearing party hats – even Rin – and why he was smiling.

The third picture was of the G-Revolutions, who were all staring at the camera with wide grins – except Kai, he had a normal smile – and Riku recognized that one as the picture the media had taken when the BBA was restored two years ago.

The fourth picture was a simple picture of a twelve year old Rin – dressed in an immaculate tuxedo – standing next to Voltaire Hiwatari. Neither male was smiling, only staring at the one who had taken the picture with matching looks of indifference. Riku wondered why Rin had kept that one.

The fifth picture was of a group of people that Riku had never seen before. There were two girls and nine boys, all of them smiling at the camera. One of the girls was jumping in the air of excitement while the other was smiling widely. Three of the males wore identical masks of surprise at the fourth grinning male who had forced two of the males to kiss, both of them blushing at that. The last two were the only ones posing for the camera, the smaller of the two males leaning on the other. Riku frowned, squinting at the smallest and youngest boy of the group. Was that smiling and happy boy Rin?

"Riku, what did I tell you about snooping in my office?"

Riku almost jumped out of his wheelchair and faced Rin. The boy rubbed his head and coughed, fixing his glasses that had almost slipped off his nose, "Don't mind me. I just had an anemic episode and that's why I was passed out in the middle of the room."

"Here I thought you liked to sleep on the floor. Akasuki-hen finds you asleep there more often than in your bed." Riku muttered before grabbing the fifth photo, "So, why don't you smile like that anymore?"

Rin paused and took the photo from Riku's hands, suddenly defensive, "That's personal, Riku. You know better than that." Riku bit back a sigh. He knew he had promised Kai to help Rin open up more about his past and the feelings he kept bottled up but that was easier said than done when he kept pushing everyone away.

"What, did someone break your heart?" Riku asked jokingly then paused when he saw the wounded expression in Rin's face that rapidly disappeared. Riku coughed, eyes a little wide and looking anywhere but at Rin's face.

Rin cleared his throat, clearly dismissing the question Riku had asked, "What brings you here, Riku? Or are you here as RIMI?"

"I come here as myself. I come as the insane Riku Kuonji." Riku replied before gesturing at the office, "It seems to me that you're here as Rin, not as the Mizushima heir. What could you be doing here, Rin?"

Rin sat down on top of his desk and grabbed a paper before giving it to Riku, "I asked Max to give me the list of the members of Eden's Rapture about two days ago. Two weeks ago, I asked Tyson to give me the list of people First had mentioned to her. Yesterday, I had a vision about Third Elder being attacked."

Riku took all of that in before speaking, his voice grimmer than usual, "What does this have to do with this mess?"

"Research, of course." Rin replied, brushing his hair aside, "I've been trying to look if anyone in the branches have found tamers who are using the members of Eden's Rapture while also looking for the list of people Tyson was told to look out for."

"How's that going so far?"

Rin shrugged, eyes a little downcast, "Rikku Yamamoto, Eden Rivers and Saori Ogata are here in Japan. Nico Tsukino was found by Kai in Australia by chance and Aria Umezawa was found by Bryan in Italy. Riliane is nowhere thus far." He bit his inner lip before removing his glasses so Riku could see his brilliant eyes that were filled with confusion.

"What about the other two? Yudai and Tsubasa Mizushima, I mean."

Rin looked at him, "It would be impossible to find them."

Riku stiffened. Rin did not use the word impossible lightly. That was a fact and the fact that he used it now threw the light-haired boy off-guard. Riku grabbed the armrests of his wheelchair tightly before asking, "Why's that?"

"Because they've been dead for over seventy years."

~~~EDIH~~~

Tyson was glancing down at the small girl in front of him once more. She was chattering excitedly about her beast to him while Aya was gathering her hair into a ponytail, complementing the girl's soft long hair. Without her hair covering most of her face, Rikku looked like a cute girl rather than a child straight out of a horror movie.

Tyson then turned to glance at the other stranger in the room. Eden Rivers, his whole name according to Kaori, was launching his blade – Anarchy Anubis – on the stadium while he was deep in thought. The blade, since it had been launched in such a clumsy manner, soon came to a stop.

How was it that two of the people that First had told him to look out for were right here? After two years, why was it that they had finally surfaced? Tyson didn't understand why and it bugged him. It bugged Dragoon as well, as he could feel agitation coming from his partner.

"Tyson, Tyson, wanna see me blade?" Rikku suddenly asked before grinning up at Hilary, "Do you want to battle me, Hilary-nee-san?"

Hilary paused before she answered. Rikku was a B-Bey prodigy and had a very dark and powerful bit-beast by her side. She carried herself with confidence that reminded her a little of Tyson. Still, she decided that it would do for everyone to see how good she was.

"Sure." Hilary said and the two girls stood across each other in the beystadium. Eden stopped to see them battle, his green eyes calculating them in a way that reminded Tyson of Rin. The two girls got into a launching position, brows furrowed, with Rikku's hardened eyes showing her confidence.

"Three! Two! One! Let it rip!" Tyson announced as the referee.

Loki and Artemis crashed in the middle of the stadium. Rikku smiled as the two separated, Artemis wobbling slightly. How strong was Loki in order to cause that much damage to Artemis with only one clash?

The two blades circled around each other, hitting each other. Kaori analyzed Loki. It was a right-spinning attack type blade with a tip that would suit a balance type better. The defense ring was thin but that helped with its speed.

Loki will not be defeated. Kaori finally decided and looked up to see Eden's eyes. The boy had probably already deduced that much, she gathered before she looked back at the match.

"This is too easy." Rikku before her eyes turned green, "End it, Loki."

Loki began to rotate faster, speeding towards Artemis before they crashed together. Artemis was sent flying and, before it hit the ground, it burst. Hilary gasped as the pieces of her blade fell on the ground. She kneeled down, picking up the bit-chip and looking forlorn.

"Match over." Tyson said, impressed at how easily Rikku had won, "Rikku and Loki are the winners."

Rikku grinned and recalled her blade. She kneeled down and picked up what was Artemis's attack ring and defense ring, "Here you go. Sorry."

Hilary shook her head, "It's fine. It was a beybattle, after all."

"Why did you toy with her, Rikku?" Eden asked. When the others turned to him in surprise, he shrugged, "I've seen Rikku give it her all. The match is finished as soon as Loki hits the other blade first. That's why no one likes to battle Rikku."

"Seriously?" Hilary asked, feeling depressed.

Rikku looked down, "I'm sorry. I just wanted to have fun and I wanted you to have fun. No one wants to play with me because I beat them really quickly. I hope you understand."

Hilary nodded and patted the girl on the back, "You're an amazing blader, I have to give you that, Rikku! Having that much skill in your age is impressive. I am jealous, Rikku."

Rikku smiled, blushing brightly. Nami, Shun and Hikaru began praising her as well and Kaori grinned before grabbing Tyson's hand, "Thank you."

Tyson looked at the smaller girl, "What's there to thank? I didn't do anything."

"You did, though," She answered, "Rikku never willingly challenged someone to a beybattle and I hadn't seen her smile until the moment she saw you. And she let us put her hair back when she would usually blade with most of her hair covering her eyes. Just by being near her, you've helped, Tyson. I like that about you."

Tyson didn't know how to respond to that so Kaori left him alone, heading to where Rikku was talking to the others. He hadn't even thought that he was able to bring the light out of people, even though other people besides Kaori had already noticed this. He couldn't say it was because a part of Night lived inside him because people had noticed this about him before the gentle beast took refuge inside him. He wondered why it was that he helped people.

He came out of his thoughts to see Aya talking to Eden, the boy looking rather uncomfortable as Aya bombarded him with questions. He looked at Tyson as if asking for his help but Tyson ignored the look. He had to deal with Aya every day, after all, so he wouldn't willingly allow himself to be bombarded by her randomness now.

Suddenly, Eden's gaze turned to the doorway and his eyes filled with so many emotions that Tyson almost looked away. Sadness, regret, longing, desire, love and affection, an odd combination that Tyson hadn't seen cross a person's mind before. Thus, he turned to see who had evoked those emotions on the male.

Standing behind Riku's wheelchair – having brought him here, no doubt – was Rin.

~~~EDIH~~~

Anime: Ahh, the first appearance of Third in EDIH (one of my favorite Elders to write) and of the bastard Erebus.

Night: What do you suppose will happen next, what with all these revelations in this chapter?

Chaos: Tune in next time for EDIH. See you then!

~~~EDIH~~~

Next chapter: Proof of Life

Song: Proof of Life by Kagamine Rin and Len